Welcome to the September edition of Inroads, in which we are very much looking forward to the future of computing and computing education.

A new model for combining knowledge and competency for computer science curricula is proposed and discussed by Amruth Kumar and his team of co-authors (Brett Becker, Marcelo Pias, Michael Oudshoorn, Pankaj Jalote, Christian Servin, Sherif Aly, Richard Blumenthal, Susan Epstein, and Monica Anderson). This grew out of work on the CC2020 computing curricula report and a working group at ITiCSE in 2020. While this is a challenging task, it reflects both the growing diversity and complexity of knowledge in the discipline, as well as increasing demands for accountability and accreditation credentials. This article provides a first step towards a comprehensive view of competency in the discipline.

On a related topic, regular columnist Tony Clear addresses similar issues in his discussion of the relationships between competencies, knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This work grew from an analysis of the difference in expectation between junior and senior software developers, and the challenges of applying curriculum processes to this data (obtained from job advertisements). This provides an intriguing case study of the application of curriculum processes to a specific set of skills.

In a piece about the future of computing, Carrie Anne Philbin addresses one of the headline issues of recent times: what will be the effect of generative AI on the future of programming? This article is comprehensive in scope, addressing the implications of using generative AI tools to learn programming, potential challenges for assessing student performance, and the potential effect of the use of public data of this nature in educational settings. Exactly what the future may hold is very much a mystery, but this article provides a guide to the various issues involved and how they may interact.

Henry Walker tackles another large issue head-on—the trustworthiness of information, and specifically, how to impart to students the skill of analysing information sources. This has always been important, and has now taken on a new level of significance in the era where large language models (such as the one underlying ChatGPT) can be used ubiquitously to generate seemingly plausible information that can be utterly false. In Henry's usual informal style, many intriguing examples are discussed and analysed.

David Ginat provides yet another challenge, this time a simple but intriguing two-player game. Of course, there is also an analysis of the previous challenge, but this time with two contrasting solutions. Which one do you prefer? And yes, of course there is another puzzle from Scott Weiss to twist your brain, continuing from the last issue involving Stacks.

Finally, in this futuristic issue, we introduce a new column called Computing Crossroads. Here Brett Becker, Megan Maley, and Daniel Gallagher share vignettes constructed from interviews of people who have entered computing from non-traditional pathways or left computing to contribute to diverse disciplines. These different perspectives from within and outside of computing, can challenge our thinking about computing, and what is considered a typical set of computing skills or a computing career path. Each edition of Computing Crossroads will feature two vignettes, aiming to spotlight the diversity of experiences and challenges faced by these often-unsung heroes. This first such column focuses on Lisa Kaczmarczyk, whose work in Business led her to computing education innovations, in outreach programs for women and girls, and in computing for social good. Lisa is well known to many of us. The other vignette, of Daniel Hull, presents a computer scientist whose knowledge of computing has helped him contribute extensively to the field of biology. The authors offer the following thoughts about their column.

It is likely that in the coming years there will be more people in a wide variety of industries who have familiarity with programming concepts or have completed a computing or computer science class, taking the experience they gained with them in forming their own individual career path. Similarly, it is likely that more people in computing fields will have come from other areas and disciplines, bringing with them valuable and unique perspectives and insight.

We have found that many participants stand in direct contradiction to the stereotypes and misconceptions that can at times be a major challenge and barrier to entry for prospective computing students. We have also found that when focusing on career diversity, many other kinds of diversity come into focus naturally. We hope that these stories will create a shift in outlook for many in terms of what it means to 'do computing' and what the value in having a computing background can result in. We hope to inspire a new generation of students to come and explore their interest in computing, leaving behind any misconceptions that they must be a "mathematics genius," come from a particular background, or fit a certain stereotype. We also hope that this small project can help increase the sense of belonging of anyone who has spent any time studying or working in computing, even if temporarily, regardless of where they come from or where they end up going.

We hope that these vignettes will inspire many more people at the computing crossroads to share their story and enrich all of us by their endeavours, successes and challenges overcome.

Margaret Hamilton and James Harland

Editors-in-Chief

Copyright held by authors.

The Digital Library is published by the Association for Computing Machinery. Copyright © 2023 ACM, Inc.

Contents available in PDF
View Full Citation and Bibliometrics in the ACM DL.  

To comment you must create or log in with your ACM account.